Actress Leah Remini has been a vocal critic of the Church of Scientology since she made the decision to remove herself from the controversial religion in 2013.
The King of Queens star was brought into the church aged 8, after her mother converted, and has previously said she was ‘not treated as a kid’.
Remini, 53, has previously attributed her decision to split from Scientology on her daughter, Sofia, who was nine at the time, stating she didn’t want to repeat her mother’s mistakes.
She has now filed a lawsuit against the Church of Scientology, as well as their leader David Miscavige, claiming they ‘ruined her life’ after she questioned where his wife was at Tom Cruise‘s wedding to Katie Holmes.
The star allegedly asked the whereabouts of Michele ‘Shelly’ Miscavige, who has not been seen for 17 years after she failed to attend the nuptials in 2006.
Remini , center, has now filed a lawsuit against the Church of Scientology, as well as their leader David Miscavige, claiming she was targeted after asking about the whereabouts of Miscavige’s missing wife Shelly (pictured right with blonde hair)
Remini, 53, has previously attributed her decision to split from Scientology on her daughter, Sofia, who was nine at the time, stating she didn’t want to repeat her mother’s mistakes
David Miscavige, who is now also missing, is the subject of multiple lawsuits from former Scientologists, but he has never been physically reached to be served with any paperwork.
Remini’s lawsuit claims that the ‘campaign to destroy’ her ramped up after she left the church in 2013.
It goes into detail about the alleged ‘campaign’ against her, which started in 2006 after the wedding of Cruise and Holmes – when she was ‘silenced’ for asking where Shelly was.
Following her questioning at the wedding, the lawsuit claims that she was ‘held at FLAG for four months while she was put through a process that cost her hundreds of thousands of dollars and nearly led her to have a psychotic breakdown.’
In July of 2013 she resigned from Scientology, and filed a missing person report on Shelly, who was last seen at her father’s funeral in 2007.
Speaking to BuzzFeed in 2014 she said that her daughter was the main reason, adding: ‘She was getting to the age where the acclimations into the church would have to star.
‘I grew up resenting my mother because she was never home. My mom thought she was doing something good; she thought she was helping the planet. That’s what the church tells you.
‘I was saying ‘family first,’ but I wasn’t showing that. I didn’t like the message that sent my daughter.’
Leah Remini reported Shelly missing after she left the Church of Scientology in 2013. She says the LAPD has made her feel ‘crazy’ for 10 years for looking for her missing friend
Months after she filed the report the LAPD closed the case, saying they met with a woman who claimed she was Shelly at a coffee shop. Pictured: An undated photo of Shelly
Miscavige, who is now also missing, is the subject of multiple lawsuits from former Scientologists, but he has never been physically reached to be served with any paperwork
Months after she filed the report the LAPD closed the case, saying they met with a woman who claimed she was Shelly at a coffee shop.
The woman was accompanied by Jeffrey Riffer, a long-serving Scientology lawyer. Reporter Yashar Ali claimed at the time that detectives took the woman’s fingerprints but they were too faint to make a positive match.
A statement from the Church of Scientology at the time said: ‘The Los Angeles Police Department has already stated that the case is closed and that the report filed by Leah Remini was unfounded.’
In September 2013 she appeared on Dancing with The Stars, telling the show: ‘I’m going through a personal and big change for me and my family.
‘The church is looking for me to fail so they can say to their parishioners, you see what happens when you leave the church? They’re waiting for me to fail.’
In 2015 the actress voiced her support for HBO’s documentary, Going Clear, which highlighted the alleged abuse and exploitations of the Church of Scientology.
Posting on Twitter, she said on the night it aired: ‘Thank you to the brave [people] who did something about it. And to those who didn’t have a voice, you do now.’
Throughout 2015 Remini spoke out repeatedly against the religion, telling Oprah Winfrey that it was painful for her to leave her friends in the church behind.
Remini claims that she had to hire bodyguards for her book tour after being ‘physically followed’ by people she says worked for the church
The actress allegedly asked questions regarding the missing wife of Miscavige, who has not been seen for 17 years after she failed to attend the nuptials in 2006
The King of Queens star was brought into the church aged 8, after her mother converted, and has previously said she was ‘not treated as a kid’. She’s pictured as a child with her dad George and her sister
She said: ‘I’m learning there’s a new world out here and there shouldn’t be any kind of judgment toward somebody who has a belief system that is not yours,’
The star went on to write a book on her departure, titled ‘Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology,’.
Remini promoted it with an in-depth interview on ’20/20,’ reiterating her previous claims and saying she didn’t want to be ‘disconnected’ from her daughter.
Her book included details of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’ wedding weekend, with the church hitting back saying she was ‘pathetically exploiting her former religion, her former friends and other celebrities for money and attention to appear relevant again.’
A year later Remini worked on her own docuseries about her experiences with the Church on A&E, called Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath.
It was renewed for two additional seasons, and ended in August 2019, with the final episode airing in front of a live studio audience made up of former Scientology members.
She told the Hollywood Reporter after the final series: ‘We’ve done our job. The public is seeing what a truly evil organization it is.
Remini also claims in her lawsuit that Scientology operated Twitter accounts make various ‘unsubstantiated claims’, including this one slamming her for testifying in support of former Scientology member Paul Haggis during his rape trial. He was later convicted of the charges he faced
David Miscavige, who is now also missing, is the subject of multiple lawsuits from former Scientologists, but he has never been physically reached to be served with any paperwork
Remini promoted it with an in-depth interview on ’20/20,’ reiterating her previous claims and saying she didn’t want to be ‘disconnected’ from her daughter
‘It’s not about religious beliefs. They can believe whatever the f*** they want. But they can’t just do whatever the f** they want — because that’s what they’ve been doing.’
In 2021 That ’70s Show star Danny Masterson blamed Leah Remini for turning prosecutors against him in his rape case.
At the time of his arrest Remini had tweeted: ‘Finally, victims are being heard when it comes to Scientology! This is just the beginning Scientology. Your days of getting away with it is coming to an end!’
The actress then ramped up her criticisms of the religion, targeting high-profile member Tom Cruise after the premier of Top Gun: Maverick in May 2022.
Mission Impossible star Cruise has been a follower of Scientology since 1986, and is considered the best friend of leader Miscavige.
She created a video on TikTok, reacting to Cruise’s Top Gun co-star Miles Teller singing his praises in an interview.
Remini replied to a comment asking if fans had forgotten her story, and the ‘impact Tom Cruise has on Scientology’, saying ‘I couldn’t have said it better myself’.
In June 2023, just over a month before she filed her lawsuit, the actress spoke out about her stunted education because of Scientology.
She had just finished her second year at NYU, admitting she stopped receiving a formal education as a teen because the founder of Scientology had a ‘deep disdain for conventual education’.
The actress then ramped up her criticisms of the religion, targeting high-profile member Tom Cruise after the premier of Top Gun: Maverick in May 2022
She has filed eight counts against them in her lawsuit, and is asking for punitive and compensatory damages to be proven at trial
She alleges that they sent ‘disparaging and threatening letters’ to those who were promoting her book
Court documents show that she is now accusing the Church of Scientology for ‘civil harassment, stalking, defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, intentional interference with prospective economic advantage.’
She has filed eight counts against them in her lawsuit, and is asking for punitive and compensatory damages to be proven at trial.
The suit is also asking for ‘damages for the disruption of contractual relationships and lost business opportunities’ for an undisclosed amount.
Remini claims that she had to hire bodyguards for her book tour after being ‘physically followed’ by people she says worked for the church.
She alleges that they sent ‘disparaging and threatening letters’ to those who were promoting her book.
The documents also claim that celebrities who are active Scientologists were ‘drilled’ on how to attack Remini’s credibility by calling her a ‘criminal’.
In a statement, Remini said: ‘After 17 years of harassment, intimidation, surveillance, and defamation, I am filing a lawsuit against Scientology and David Miscavige.
Court documents also claim that Scientology has accused Remini of inciting the murder of Taiwanese Scientologist, Chih-Jen Yeh, 24, in its Australian headquarters
In 2021 That ’70s Show star Danny Masterson blamed Leah Remini for turning prosecutors against him in his rape case.
‘While advocating for victims of Scientology has significantly impacted my life and career, Scientology’s final objective of silencing me has not been achieved.
‘While this lawsuit is about what Scientology has done to me, I am one of thousands of targets of Scientology over the past seven decades.
‘People who share what they’ve experienced in Scientology, and those who tell their stories and advocate for them, should be free to do so without fearing retaliation from a cult with tax exemption and billions in assets.
‘The press has a right to report about Scientology without facing a sophisticated intelligence operation from Scientology to destroy their personal lives and their careers.
‘Law enforcement authorities have a right to investigate crimes in Scientology without fear that they will lose their jobs.
‘Children, mothers, fathers, aunts, and uncles have a right to request welfare checks on their family members without fear of an operation activated against them by Scientology for doing so.
‘Those in the entertainment business should have a right to tell jokes and stories without facing an operation from Scientology which uses its resources in Hollywood to destroy their lives and careers.
‘With this lawsuit, I hope to protect the rights afforded to them and me by the Constitution of the United States to speak the truth and report the facts about Scientology without fear of vicious and vindictive retribution, of which most have no way to fight back.’
